Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label Lump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lump. Show all posts
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Monday, August 27, 2012
How Ginger Spent Her 5th Birthday pt 1
Hard to believe but it's been five whole years since little Ginger/Lump came into our world. This years event was held at Chuck E Cheese.
We had the party at noon on her actual birthday, hoping weekday crowds would be far smaller than their weekend equivalents. We were right. While we didn't have the place to ourselves, it was close enough - it felt like our own private playground.
The party started off with the kids just playing and using their allotted tokens for a good 45 minutes.
Of course, some grown ups had to get in on the act too.
Meanwhile most of the grown-ups chilled.
At one point all the kids joined Chuck E for a dance along - including YaYa!
Then it was time for pizza!
The grown-ups, meanwhile, had a veggie tray and sandwiches.
Then it was time for cake:
and to sing happy birthday!
Ginger was loving it!
So was her Daddy!
Then Chuck E came out to visit her again
and we sang happy birthday AGAIN! (oopsies!)
not that she minded
Then they put her inside a booth that blew tickets into the air around her. The goal was the golden 1000 ticket prize, but the manager cheated and told her to step on it before the wind started :)
Mission accomplished!
Then it was time to open presents.
We got her a zebra print hassock
a Cuddle-Up-It (her favorite gift of the day!)
YaYa got her a princess movie DVD
.
LuLu got her lipgloss
I got her a whiffle ball/bat and baseball mitt, and she got scads of other stuff from friends and family:
Smiley got her AppleJacks, a My Little Pony
and with her tickets from the games she got herself a gumball machine.
It was a great time and a swell birthday party (oddly, very relaxing for the grown-ups too) and her day was only half done . . .
We had the party at noon on her actual birthday, hoping weekday crowds would be far smaller than their weekend equivalents. We were right. While we didn't have the place to ourselves, it was close enough - it felt like our own private playground.
The party started off with the kids just playing and using their allotted tokens for a good 45 minutes.
Of course, some grown ups had to get in on the act too.
Meanwhile most of the grown-ups chilled.
At one point all the kids joined Chuck E for a dance along - including YaYa!
Then it was time for pizza!
The grown-ups, meanwhile, had a veggie tray and sandwiches.
Then it was time for cake:
and to sing happy birthday!
Ginger was loving it!
So was her Daddy!
Then Chuck E came out to visit her again
and we sang happy birthday AGAIN! (oopsies!)
not that she minded
Then they put her inside a booth that blew tickets into the air around her. The goal was the golden 1000 ticket prize, but the manager cheated and told her to step on it before the wind started :)
Mission accomplished!
Then it was time to open presents.
We got her a zebra print hassock
a Cuddle-Up-It (her favorite gift of the day!)
YaYa got her a princess movie DVD
.
LuLu got her lipgloss
I got her a whiffle ball/bat and baseball mitt, and she got scads of other stuff from friends and family:
Smiley got her AppleJacks, a My Little Pony
and with her tickets from the games she got herself a gumball machine.
It was a great time and a swell birthday party (oddly, very relaxing for the grown-ups too) and her day was only half done . . .
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
FB - May 11th thru the 17th
May 11th
Congrats to Prince Fielder for hitting his 200th home run.
May 12th
08:29 out for coffee w/ Lisa [this is as rare as snow in July]
@ least 68 people are dead in Pakistan as a result of Al-Queda attacks
May 13th
Master Yourself
you're up to the hubs in mud, stockjobber
Sen. Herb Kohl has announced he will not seek re-election
A man in the Canary Islands decapitates an apparent stranger in a supermarket
May 14th
Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew has announced he will be entering hospice
The silent movie "Saved From the Titanic" starring survivor Dorothy Gibson was released on this day in 1912. In the film she wore the same dress she work during the sinking. Sadly, the film was destroyed in a fire and no copy seems to remain.
An afternoon of compromise. W/ Lis & YaYa gone shopping, Netflix failed so I found a college gymnastics tourney for Lu to watch. We're starving, so I set out to make tuna casserole, but in the end found no soup, so we're eating noodles, peas, and tuna dry. Thankfully, Lu seems to love both. She's entranced by the gymnastics for sure.
May 16th
Lagniappe (lan-yap) This word is Cajun for "something extra," like the extra donut in a baker's dozen. An unexpected nice surprise.
20 years ago today (IIR the date right, and I usually do), I was confirmed in the Catholic Church. The retreat that preceded the ceremony was one of the turning points in my life. There was a clear, defined moment when I looked at who I was and who I wanted to be and realized the two were worlds apart. The last 2 decades would not be possible w/out that insight.
Before school LuLu and I went to the local high school in hopes of retrieving a necklace she'd left behind after a [rec swim] class this past weekend. I didn't think there was a chance in hell of it still being around, but lo and behold there it be. Storing it in a broken locker with a smashed, askew door probably helped her cause.
The Sahara Casino in Las Vegas is closing after 58 years
Given 10 min unsupervised, Lump decorated the vanity, sink, toilet, her clothing and her face with lipstick & eye shadow. We cleaned it up, yelled at her, & then sat down in the living room. I still had an angry, PO'd look on my face. "Just drop the act, she's out of the room" Lis said. "You know you live for this sh-t." I LOL'd - she's right.
Donald Trump has announced he is NOT running for President in 2012
14:28 @ Olive Garden w/ Lis, then off to work. [we had a gift certificate]
May 17th
I have a dishwasher repairman coming at 1 o'clock. That means I have to clean. Ugh.[it cost me $73 for him to tell me an egg shell had clogged a water line. Double ugh]
Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child ten years ago with a member of his household staff. Yikes.
Former Obama supporter Cindy Crawford now backs my boy Mitt Romney. I'm all for a Romney/Ryan ticket - America deserves some R&R!
Ryan will not run for Herb Kohl's seat, but it looks like my man Tommy Thompson is game! Whoo hoo! Welcome back Tommy, I missed ya.
RIP Harmon Killebrew
Watching The Voice on NBC w/ Lis and Erv, after a 2hr dWtS marathon
Arod hits two outta da park, leading my Yanks to victory. Hoo-ya.
Congrats to Prince Fielder for hitting his 200th home run.
May 12th
08:29 out for coffee w/ Lisa [this is as rare as snow in July]
@ least 68 people are dead in Pakistan as a result of Al-Queda attacks
May 13th
Master Yourself
you're up to the hubs in mud, stockjobber
Sen. Herb Kohl has announced he will not seek re-election
A man in the Canary Islands decapitates an apparent stranger in a supermarket
May 14th
Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew has announced he will be entering hospice
The silent movie "Saved From the Titanic" starring survivor Dorothy Gibson was released on this day in 1912. In the film she wore the same dress she work during the sinking. Sadly, the film was destroyed in a fire and no copy seems to remain.
An afternoon of compromise. W/ Lis & YaYa gone shopping, Netflix failed so I found a college gymnastics tourney for Lu to watch. We're starving, so I set out to make tuna casserole, but in the end found no soup, so we're eating noodles, peas, and tuna dry. Thankfully, Lu seems to love both. She's entranced by the gymnastics for sure.
May 16th
Lagniappe (lan-yap) This word is Cajun for "something extra," like the extra donut in a baker's dozen. An unexpected nice surprise.
20 years ago today (IIR the date right, and I usually do), I was confirmed in the Catholic Church. The retreat that preceded the ceremony was one of the turning points in my life. There was a clear, defined moment when I looked at who I was and who I wanted to be and realized the two were worlds apart. The last 2 decades would not be possible w/out that insight.
Before school LuLu and I went to the local high school in hopes of retrieving a necklace she'd left behind after a [rec swim] class this past weekend. I didn't think there was a chance in hell of it still being around, but lo and behold there it be. Storing it in a broken locker with a smashed, askew door probably helped her cause.
The Sahara Casino in Las Vegas is closing after 58 years
Given 10 min unsupervised, Lump decorated the vanity, sink, toilet, her clothing and her face with lipstick & eye shadow. We cleaned it up, yelled at her, & then sat down in the living room. I still had an angry, PO'd look on my face. "Just drop the act, she's out of the room" Lis said. "You know you live for this sh-t." I LOL'd - she's right.
Donald Trump has announced he is NOT running for President in 2012
14:28 @ Olive Garden w/ Lis, then off to work. [we had a gift certificate]
May 17th
I have a dishwasher repairman coming at 1 o'clock. That means I have to clean. Ugh.[it cost me $73 for him to tell me an egg shell had clogged a water line. Double ugh]
Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child ten years ago with a member of his household staff. Yikes.
Former Obama supporter Cindy Crawford now backs my boy Mitt Romney. I'm all for a Romney/Ryan ticket - America deserves some R&R!
Ryan will not run for Herb Kohl's seat, but it looks like my man Tommy Thompson is game! Whoo hoo! Welcome back Tommy, I missed ya.
RIP Harmon Killebrew
Watching The Voice on NBC w/ Lis and Erv, after a 2hr dWtS marathon
Arod hits two outta da park, leading my Yanks to victory. Hoo-ya.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
FB April 25th to May 10th
April 25th
the new Nook update is out! Apps increase from a handful to 139! Now it not only wups the Kindle, it makes it put on makeup and call Barnes and Noble "big daddy"
April 26th
13:01 Since I worked all weekend and Lisa was up north on Saturday, our Easter is *today*. Took the kids to Mass at 8:15, big dinner at 4:30. Ham is in the oven, kielbasa in the slow cooker, potatoes peeled and cut, hard boiled eggs peeled and ready for . . er, deviling. Desperately hoping for a nap b4 the final push . .
19:28 outside Stonefire Pizza waiting to conduct a Craigslist purchase of kids clothing. Big scary man alone outside kids play area = not most well thought out meeting place
I love playing "Old Cannon" a simple little 'physics' game where you attempt to knock down castles using only 3 shots from an old cannon. Smiley, oddly, aced every level while I struggled with a few :)
22:34 chilling w/ my friend erv, who just got out of the hospital (complications of diabetes)
RIP Poly Styrene (born Marianne Elliot), who has died of breast cancer at age 53.
April 27th
On a lark I watched "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra". For a big budget popcorn flick, it was fine. Better than I expected really, tho' the Flash Gordon technology was tiresome. So was the acting. Channing Tatum seemed to think he was hired to imitate Mark Wahlberg's worst traits, while Marlon Wayan's signed on for a degrading minstrel show performance.
April 30th
Today marks 36 years since the Fall of Saigon.
Watching the Channel 10 Auction with Lisa and LOL at all the crappy artwork and tschotcke's (sic) they're peddling.
May 1st
After a miserable day at work yest I finished CJ Sansom's "Dissolution", a Tudor era mystery featuring King's Commisioner Matthew Shardlake. I liked it quite a bit, but admit to becoming irrationally angry at some of the Reformist actions/thoughts expressed through the character. Also, I guessed the murderer's identity - but not until about 20 pgs before it was revealed. A good read and recommended.
Pope John Paul II was named 'Blessed' today, a step below Sainthood. God bless him, what grand news! I love John Paul, and look upon CNN's reporting of protests as nothing more than anti-Catholic bigotry in action.
May 2nd
Just back from Parker's 1st ever Tiger Cub Scout meeting!
<---- perhaps the only man to ever complain to a Scout leader that his son's meetings conflict with watching Dancing With the Stars
May 3rd
For $3 I bought an old hardcover copy of "Little Orpan Annie and the Gila Monster Gang" (Harold Gray, published 1944) and loaned it to YaYa at 5 o'clock. She just came downstairs to return it, having finished the 248 pg bk. Just in case she was full of it, I skimmed the last two chapters and quizzed her, & she aced it. Well done, Danny Jr.
Seriously, how many times does this have to happen to me before I take the hint? Do NOT handle jalepeno peppers and then use the restroom *unless* you wash your hands first. I tell you this to spare you pain greater than any other . . . shoot me now.
May 4th
So, the Prez is cool with lifting the ban on photos of American KIA's, and w/ releasing photos of alleged abuse by our military - but he won't release a photo of OBL because he's afraid of offending our enemy. [crickets chirp] Wouldn't that be the same enemy that drags bodies through the street and beheads reporters on camera?
Gas in Chicago inching towards $5 a gallon. (I've seen $4.44 confirmed in print)
[gas prices peaked that day or the next before moving downward]
May 5th
Something's gone goofy here. I woke up with shooting pain from my wrists up to my elbows, and I barely had the strength in my hands to take apart the bikes this morning & replace their inner tubes. It's prob this flu that's been making the rounds, but I feel like an old man, and I still have a workday ahead of me . . .
[oh man, did I feel awful. Just awful, for about 48 hours. But I made it work both days]
May 7th
Don't linger on moments of no consequence, and don't rush over moments worth examining
RIP Sada Thompson, 83, actress best known from "Family"
Now that Obama has essentially sanctified Bush era polices by keeping Gitmo, using info obtained by EIT, and pre-emeptively attacking targets wherever they appear, I expect it will be harder for the Left to attack him on those points without looking like a complete hypocrite.
RIP, Claude Choules, the last known WWI combatant, age 110 - and thank you.
May 8th
Today was a perfect day, just the kind of day you'll jump to relive when your life flashes before your eyes. Just perfect :)
May 9th
Whaaaa??? Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, have separated
I just finished 'Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam" by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. The book focuses on the Marine detatchment at the Saigon embassy, the last group of American's to exit Vietnam. Very compelling, and written in an easy and entertaining manner. Recommended.
May 10th
10:20 am - ok, about to exit the car and walk into an interview. Wish me luck
Interview went well (I think) lasting for 45 minutes and eventually involving the owner himself. Nice to wear a shirt and tie again, if only for a morning.
Lump passed her in-school eye test today, scoring a 20/50 in each eye. That's normal for a three year old. By 4-5 years old it should be 20/40, then 20/32 by age six.
the new Nook update is out! Apps increase from a handful to 139! Now it not only wups the Kindle, it makes it put on makeup and call Barnes and Noble "big daddy"
April 26th
13:01 Since I worked all weekend and Lisa was up north on Saturday, our Easter is *today*. Took the kids to Mass at 8:15, big dinner at 4:30. Ham is in the oven, kielbasa in the slow cooker, potatoes peeled and cut, hard boiled eggs peeled and ready for . . er, deviling. Desperately hoping for a nap b4 the final push . .
19:28 outside Stonefire Pizza waiting to conduct a Craigslist purchase of kids clothing. Big scary man alone outside kids play area = not most well thought out meeting place
I love playing "Old Cannon" a simple little 'physics' game where you attempt to knock down castles using only 3 shots from an old cannon. Smiley, oddly, aced every level while I struggled with a few :)
22:34 chilling w/ my friend erv, who just got out of the hospital (complications of diabetes)
RIP Poly Styrene (born Marianne Elliot), who has died of breast cancer at age 53.
April 27th
On a lark I watched "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra". For a big budget popcorn flick, it was fine. Better than I expected really, tho' the Flash Gordon technology was tiresome. So was the acting. Channing Tatum seemed to think he was hired to imitate Mark Wahlberg's worst traits, while Marlon Wayan's signed on for a degrading minstrel show performance.
April 30th
Today marks 36 years since the Fall of Saigon.
Watching the Channel 10 Auction with Lisa and LOL at all the crappy artwork and tschotcke's (sic) they're peddling.
May 1st
After a miserable day at work yest I finished CJ Sansom's "Dissolution", a Tudor era mystery featuring King's Commisioner Matthew Shardlake. I liked it quite a bit, but admit to becoming irrationally angry at some of the Reformist actions/thoughts expressed through the character. Also, I guessed the murderer's identity - but not until about 20 pgs before it was revealed. A good read and recommended.
Pope John Paul II was named 'Blessed' today, a step below Sainthood. God bless him, what grand news! I love John Paul, and look upon CNN's reporting of protests as nothing more than anti-Catholic bigotry in action.
May 2nd
Just back from Parker's 1st ever Tiger Cub Scout meeting!
<---- perhaps the only man to ever complain to a Scout leader that his son's meetings conflict with watching Dancing With the Stars
May 3rd
For $3 I bought an old hardcover copy of "Little Orpan Annie and the Gila Monster Gang" (Harold Gray, published 1944) and loaned it to YaYa at 5 o'clock. She just came downstairs to return it, having finished the 248 pg bk. Just in case she was full of it, I skimmed the last two chapters and quizzed her, & she aced it. Well done, Danny Jr.
Seriously, how many times does this have to happen to me before I take the hint? Do NOT handle jalepeno peppers and then use the restroom *unless* you wash your hands first. I tell you this to spare you pain greater than any other . . . shoot me now.
May 4th
So, the Prez is cool with lifting the ban on photos of American KIA's, and w/ releasing photos of alleged abuse by our military - but he won't release a photo of OBL because he's afraid of offending our enemy. [crickets chirp] Wouldn't that be the same enemy that drags bodies through the street and beheads reporters on camera?
Gas in Chicago inching towards $5 a gallon. (I've seen $4.44 confirmed in print)
[gas prices peaked that day or the next before moving downward]
May 5th
Something's gone goofy here. I woke up with shooting pain from my wrists up to my elbows, and I barely had the strength in my hands to take apart the bikes this morning & replace their inner tubes. It's prob this flu that's been making the rounds, but I feel like an old man, and I still have a workday ahead of me . . .
[oh man, did I feel awful. Just awful, for about 48 hours. But I made it work both days]
May 7th
Don't linger on moments of no consequence, and don't rush over moments worth examining
RIP Sada Thompson, 83, actress best known from "Family"
Now that Obama has essentially sanctified Bush era polices by keeping Gitmo, using info obtained by EIT, and pre-emeptively attacking targets wherever they appear, I expect it will be harder for the Left to attack him on those points without looking like a complete hypocrite.
RIP, Claude Choules, the last known WWI combatant, age 110 - and thank you.
May 8th
Today was a perfect day, just the kind of day you'll jump to relive when your life flashes before your eyes. Just perfect :)
May 9th
Whaaaa??? Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver, have separated
I just finished 'Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam" by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. The book focuses on the Marine detatchment at the Saigon embassy, the last group of American's to exit Vietnam. Very compelling, and written in an easy and entertaining manner. Recommended.
May 10th
10:20 am - ok, about to exit the car and walk into an interview. Wish me luck
Interview went well (I think) lasting for 45 minutes and eventually involving the owner himself. Nice to wear a shirt and tie again, if only for a morning.
Lump passed her in-school eye test today, scoring a 20/50 in each eye. That's normal for a three year old. By 4-5 years old it should be 20/40, then 20/32 by age six.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Artiste Gene
This drawing of two dancers hangs outside YaYa's classroom and bears her signature. At a recent conference with her teacher, we asked if she traced it. Nope, her teacher replied (well, she didn't say 'nope', as that term is reserved for obnoxious bloggers). But she did say that it wasn't traced, simply eye-balled by YaYa from a picture she provided.
I'm impressed. While I can't deny a way with words and thus The Power to Move Masses, I've always envied those people who can take the pictures in their head and sketch them on paper. If I had that gift, and I could purge some of the ingenious ideas floating in my noggin, life would grand for all.
They've obviously inherited an artistic gene from Lisa, who should be -given the right breaks - Martha Stewart version 2.
Here's a giraffe Smiley drew too:
Here's some great work by LuLu
and by the Lump
Great, huh?
I'm impressed. While I can't deny a way with words and thus The Power to Move Masses, I've always envied those people who can take the pictures in their head and sketch them on paper. If I had that gift, and I could purge some of the ingenious ideas floating in my noggin, life would grand for all.
They've obviously inherited an artistic gene from Lisa, who should be -given the right breaks - Martha Stewart version 2.
Here's a giraffe Smiley drew too:
Here's some great work by LuLu
and by the Lump
Great, huh?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)